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The Duchess of Duke Street Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 Episode Guide
15 Episodes 1976 - 1976
Episode 1
A Present Sovereign
52 mins
Louisa Trotter is a headstrong young woman who has one ambition in life: to become the best cook in England. She gets a job as an assistant cook under Chef de cuisine Monsieur Alex in the home of Lord Henry Norton. Louisa is sharp-tongued and holds her own but she also realizes that she has a lot to learn. When Lord Henry returns home early from his August holiday in Scotland and Monsieur Alex is still away, Louisa finds herself having to prepare a dinner for 10 guests - including the Prince of Wales.
Episode 2
Honour and Obey
52 mins
Louisa's success at the dinner party a few weeks earlier leads to an invitation from HRH the Prince of Wales to prepare a meal for him and his guest, the German Kaiser. Once again, the meal is a success but Louisa is informed by the Prince's aide, Major Farjeon, that the heir to the British throne has a greater interest in Louisa than just her cooking. She's told that if rejects the Prince's overtures there is little likelihood that she would be accepted as a cook in the finer households. Should she accept, it will also be necessary for her to marry and Augustus Trotter, the butler, seems to be the ideal candidate.
Episode 3
A Nice Class of Premises
52 mins
With the death of Queen Victoria, the Prince of Wales becomes King Edward VII. It also means an end to Louisa's relationship with him. Without royal patronage, Louisa's husband Augustus wants to open their house to gentlemen lodgers, but Louisa wants to start her business cooking for dinner parties. With little to do, Augustus spends too much time in the pub and Louisa decides he needs something to do so she suggests they buy the Bentick Hotel. Unfortunately, Augustus isn't up to the task of managing such an establishment, drinking and entertaining his friends most of the time. Louisa finally realizes bills have not been pair for months and the hotel is on the verge of bankruptcy.
Episode 4
The Bargain
53 mins
Louisa is facing money problems after her husband and sister-in-law's spending spree and tells Mary and Merriman that she has no choice but to sell the house and get a job herself to pay off the debts. They talk her out of it but she decides catering is the only way out of her current situation. She sets a torrid pace for herself setting off to the market in the wee hours of the morning to get the freshest products and the works non-stop throughout the day. She soon collapses and finds herself ordered to her bed but continues to push herself on the brink. When she collapses on the street, Charlie Tyrell safely delivers home. He also has an interesting suggestion that will not only clear her debts but should provide her with an income as well.
Episode 5
A Bed of Roses
53 mins
With Charlie Tyrell now in residence as the first guest, the hotel is now officially open to the public. Louisa has set a high standard for herself and is relying on word of mouth among the right kind of people to bring in the clientèle. Charlie invites an attractive, but married, woman for dinner in his rooms only to have her leave when she realizes she is the only guest. He invites Louisa to join him and unexpectedly, they soon are lovers. When Charlie must leave for America, Louisa is heartbroken but she also is pregnant. At the appropriate time, she leaves the hotel with Mary in charge to go and give birth. Soon Charlie is back and completely unaware of what has been going on, tracks her down. He also has a proposition on how to care for their child.
Episode 6
For Love or Money
54 mins
Louisa welcomes Baron Paul Oppendorf supposedly a friend of Charlie Tyrrell who is away at the moment. He is in fact a womanizer and a con artist and he has his eyes set on both pursuits while at the hotel. He strikes as friendship with a visiting US Senator and soon introduces him to a fabulous machine into which you insert a £5 note and twelve hours later, it will produce an exact duplicate. It's all a hoax of course, but the Senator desperately wants to buy it. As for his amorous pursuits, he sets his sight on Lady Adam, the young and somewhat neglected bride of the gruff and much older Sir George Adam. The Baron arranges to get his hands on the key to the connecting door between their rooms and she is soon in his bed. Throughout, Louisa keeps a watchful eye on the events as they unfold.
Episode 7
A Lady of Virtue
55 mins
The Bentick hotels is back on its feet and fast becoming a center of political and personal intrigue. At a Liberal party post-election victory party George Duggan, an up and comer and potential candidate for the Prime Ministership meets the beautiful Mrs. Diana Strickland who has just taken up residence at the hotel. He's been assured by their mutual friend, Sir James Rosslyn, that she is a woman of virtue and will not stray but Duggan sets his sights on her nonetheless. He is warned however that should a liaison with a married woman become public, it would likely ruin his political career.
Episode 8
Trouble and Strife
52 mins
With Louisa off to France for a short holiday Mary, with the help of Major Smith-Barton, is in charge of the hotel and has been tasked specifically with hiring a new maid. Mr. Starr, the porter, is shocked to find an old acquaintance and seems confused as to what to do about it. His friend seems to be down on her luck and all she wants is for him to act as a reference for her when she applies for a position at the Bentinck. She threatens to expose some information from his past if he doesn't and he reluctantly agrees but when she does start work and money begins to disappear from the guests rooms, Starr begins to worry about his decision.
Episode 9
The Outsiders
52 mins
With the death of his father, Charlie Tyrell is now Lord Haslemere. He's living at the Bentinck but is feeling quite blue at having accomplished little with life. His first love is painting and he's quite pleased when Louisa introduces him to an art dealer who offers to show his work. Things don't turn out well when Charlie realizes just why his paintings are being exhibited. The Bentinck also receives a guest who is clearly not of the same class as other frequenters of the hotel. The hotel staff look down on him but when Charlie learns just why he's chosen to stay there, he decides to spend some time with him.
Episode 10
Lottie's Boy
52 mins
All is not well with the arrival at the Bentinck of Marcus Carrington, a handsome and very talented financier who has had a remarkable success in the City. The man is also the son of one of Major Smith-Barton's long ago loves. Louisa and Major Smith-Barton enthusiastically decide to invest all of their money in a South African diamond mine venture promoted by Carrington, but with disastrous results. Another problem arises when Louisa becomes quite smitten with the young man. When he shows an interest in Mary at the Servants Ball - where servants become the guests and the guests take on the role of servants - Louisa explodes, drowning her in expletives and leaving her no choice but to resign.
Episode 11
No Letters, No Lawyers
52 mins
When Louisa expels an arrogant, complaining guest she doesn't quite know what she has let herself in for. The man's uncle is the publisher of the Herald and having heard rumors of wild parties and gambling at the Bentinck, decides to assign a reporter to write an expose on the establishment. The reporter, Culliford, gets a job at the Bentinck and his story causes a good deal of trouble for Louisa when the owners of the property advise that as she is in violation of a morals clause in her lease which they now wish to cancel. strangely however, the wily Culliford also proves to be her savior.
Episode 12
A Matter of Honour
52 mins
The Ascot racing season reunites her with an old friend, Major Farjeon the one time equerry to King Edward VII. He has rented a house at Ascot but it has been a dreadful week and he hopes Louisa will prepare a smash up dinner for his guests on their last night. On arrival, Louisa finds the situation much as her friend had described and promptly fires the temporary staff provided by an agency. Her friend Charlie Haslemere is also present but he gets into a flaming row with another guest when his friend Lord Elleston is accused of cheating by having his horse lose at Ascot in the hopes of getting better odds at future races. Louisa once again comes to rescue by resolving the dispute, though to no ones satisfaction.
Episode 13
One Night's Grace
52 mins
Tongues are wagging among the hotel staff when a young woman arrives asking for Charlie Haslemere. She identifies herself as a Miss Kipps and as working in a flower shop. Like the others, Louisa Trotter doesn't believe a word of it. While she is disinclined to interfere in Charlie's private life, Louisa is a bit jealous. When she finds a disguise among Miss Kipps' belongings, she demands to know what is going on. She learns that the young woman is actually Grace Tyrell, Charlie's cousin and an active suffragette.
Episode 14
Plain Sailing
52 mins
Louisa decides to close the Bentinck for a few weeks and head to the seaside for a bit of a holiday. She's purchased a property next to the aristocratic Cowes yachting club and the boisterous presence of her guests is not very welcome by the staid members of the club. In fact, hostilities break out after Louisa overhears Lady Blenkiron describe her as running a bordello. Charlie Haslemere finds himself in the middle as he is a member of the club but also Louisa's good friend. He arranges for a meeting between the factions in the hope of working out a satisfactory solution. At Louisa's villa, he is also spending a great deal of time with the beautiful Irene Baker, a dancer and star of the stage.
Episode 15
A Test of Love
55 mins
With the death of His Majesty, King Edward VII, an era ends for Britain and for Louisa Trotter. Pressing forward, however, Charlie Tyrell (Lord Haslemere) has proposed to lovely Margaret Rosslyn and the newlyweds leave the Bentinck to live in a suitable house and start a family.
